Chapter 10
Later that evening, Belldandy had finally finished relating everything that had happened to Mara.
Mara stared at Belldandy.
"You're kidding right?"
Belldandy shook her head.
"She really took you, Urd, Skuld, AND Lind out? Along with 4 demons?"
Belldandy nodded.
Mara let out a whistle. "Remind me not to bother that goddess at all." She glanced over at Lind who was talking to heaven. "I take it she didn't take defeat very well."
"Lind is a very proud Goddess," replied Belldandy, "she trains very hard and is an excellent fighter. This goddess defeated her like she was nothing. She may not show it, but it really bothers her."
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"This it?"
"Yep. Still looks the same."
"The last time you saw it, it was about 5 years older then this."
"Thanks a lot. Alright K! Cut it!"
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"........we need to restore contact with the Hell mainframe and their operators," continued Lind, "to find out if this demon is telling the truth."
Peorth's voice came over the phone. "Alright Lind. We'll keep trying to raise Hell, if you'll pardon the expression. In the meantime you should........" The phone line suddenly went dead.
Lind frowned. "Peorth? Peorth?" Lind tried to dial a number, the phone gave no response. She turned and went out to the kitchen.
"The phone is dead."
Keiichi looked up from the couch. "What?"
"The phone is dead."
Urd frowned. "Why would the phone be......." He voice trailed off as a cold feeling shot down her spine. Lind and Belldandy equally froze. Mara began to grow very pale.
Keiichi looked back and forth at the women. "What? What is it?"
Before anyone could answer him, he heard a voice, a voice that sent chills down his spine. It sounded so familiar and yet was anything but.
"Hellooooooooo! Come out come out where ever you are!"
"It's her." said Mara quietly.
"Who?" asked Keiichi.
"Sayoko, the one who looks like Belldandy."
"HEY!" came the voice, "I said COME OUT!!"
"What should we do?" asked Keiichi.
"We cannot go outside." said Lind, "We do not know what faces us outside."
"There's at least 8 demons." said Mara.
A force bolt suddenly blasted through the wall, flew over everyone's head, before blasting it's way back out of the house. Everyone hit the floor.
"The next one comes in lower. NOW GET OUT OF THAT HOUSE!"
"Well what now?" asked Mara.
"We comply." replied Lind. She stood up, and exited the house with her hands raised. Urd sighed and followed. Mara grumbled something and then exited, followed by Keiichi and Belldandy. Even though he was told what to expect, Keiichi was still surprised. The demon that waited outside looked almost exactly like Belldandy, except that her hair was darker, like Megumi's. The demoness looked over her captives with a kind of excitement. That looked vanished when her eyes came on Keiichi and Belldandy. Keiichi could have sworn that the demoness actually looked unhappy and about to cry. The demoness looked away before speaking, but even as she did, her voice began to crack.
"Have you found the cat?"
"Yes Milady." replied a Demon who held up Velsper by the tail. Velsper struggled to try and scratch at the demon.
"Take him back and prepare him for the 'discussion'." The demon bowed and then vanished. Sayoko continued to looked away from the group. "Urd. My Aunt would like to speak with you."
Urd frowned. "I have nothing to say to a demon."
Sayoko turned about and glared at Urd. "You have no say in the matter!"
"Why would the Queen of Hell want to speak with Urd.....When the Queen of Hell IS Urd?" asked Mara.
Sayoko glared at Mara, "Quiet Traitor!"
"Why are you doing this?" asked Belldandy, "We have done nothing to you."
Sayoko started to speak, but hesitated, refusing to meet Belldandy's eyes. "I.......I........I must obey my Aunt."
"Even if it's wrong?"
"She took me in....." said Sayoko softly, "She took me and K in......when no one else would." Sayoko shook her head and then turned to one of the other demons. "They are all coming with us."
Sayoko started to turn away when a flash of silver caught her eye. She turned to see a disk wedged into the throat of the demon. The demon fell to the ground dead. Sayoko snapped out an order and quickly began to look around. The other demons began to spread out and look at the trees and bushes along the temple grounds. Another whirling noise, another demon dropped dead.
"Where is she?" hissed Sayoko.
"I don't know Milady." replied one of the demons.
"I hope it isn't anyone we know." said Urd quietly.
Mara glanced over at Urd. "Huh?"
Urd motioned at the 2 dead demons. "Doublet system, remember?"
"Oh." Mara looked back at the demons. "These are the ones that came with that Queen. They have different outfits then the rest."
The demon Sayoko growled and fired off several force bolts into the bushes. The only reply was another dead demon, the metal disk coming from an entirely different direction.
"Shit!" shouted Sayoko. Sayoko started to track the bushes again, when a fireball lit up the temple yard. When it vanished, Queen Urd, Keima, and several other demons had appeared.
"Oh crap." muttered Mara. Urd had to agree. It was like looking at an evil version of herself. It sent chills down her spine.
"What the hell is taking you so long?!" shouted Queen Urd, "The cat is back. Why aren't you?!?"
"We have encountered a difficulty." replied Sayoko.
"A difficulty?" asked Queen Urd, "What kind of.....?" a whirling noise and another demon dropping dead cut her off. "Oh.......THAT difficulty. Well this will be easy to fix." She turned to K. "Your knife. Now." K handed Queen Urd his knife. She then walked over and grabbed Belldandy, holding the knife to her throat. Sayoko and Keima both froze. Queen Urd looked around at the bushes before speaking. "ALRIGHT BRAT! I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE! GET OUT IN THE OPEN OR I'LL KILL HER!"
Keiichi started to move towards Queen Urd, but several Demon hands grabbed him. Sayoko and Keima themselves looked unsure. The Queen continued to hold the knife on Belldandy, looking around to see if the Goddess would step out. She waited several moments before speaking again. "YOU KNOW I'LL DO IT!" Still no answer. Finally, Queen Urd tossed Belldandy to the ground in disgust. She then nodded to the demons holding Keiichi. One of them pulled out a knife and held it at Keiichi's throat. Keiichi froze as he felt the cold metal touching his throat. Queen Urd smiled and then turned back to the bushes. "ALRIGHT! HOW ABOUT THIS: YOU GET TO SEE THE LOOK ON BELLDANDY'S FACE WHEN I KILL KEIICHI RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER!" Urd voice then went softer, but could still be heard clearly across the grounds. "You remember what she was like when he was killed don't you? Are you ready to see it again?"
"Enough."
Queen Urd turned to see the 1st Class Goddess stepping out of the bushes, without her helmet. Belldandy, Keiichi, Urd, Mara, and even Lind gasped as they saw her face.
"Skuld......." Belldandy said softly.
"She's........old." said Keiichi.
"Well Skuld......." said Queen Urd, "It's been years........Now raise your hands. I don't intend to get shot."
Skuld complied, placing both hands on her head.
"Skuld Skuld Skuld....." began Queen Urd, "You've caused me a lot of problems over the years."
Skuld just smiled.
"That ends today." continued Urd. She looked over at the demons holding Keiichi. The released him and started moving towards Skuld.
"Hold it!" shouted Skuld.
The demons froze. Queen Urd frowned. "What for?"
"Urd, you've known me and fought me for many years now." Skuld said with a smile, "Haven't you learned yet?"
Queen Urd's frown became a look of confusion. "Learned what?"
"NEVER underestimate Skuld!" Skuld started lowering her left arm.
"SHOOT HER!" shouted Queen Urd.
Demons began firing force bolts on Skuld. The bolts passed straight through her as if she wasn't even there. The demons stared in shock at Skuld, who was now laughing at them. Suddenly she broke up into static, before vanishing.
"Hologram!?!?" muttered the Queen. Seconds later, all hell broke loose.
Force bolts began raining down on the demons from two different directions, followed by a few metal disks from one of the directions.
"Dammit!" shouted Queen Urd, "Get them out of here!"
Several Demons grabbed Keiichi and Urd and began to haul them away. Queen Urd herself grabbed Belldandy. Several more grabbed Lind and Mara. These were hit by force bolts, killing them instantly. Several more force bolts went after the ones holding Urd and Keiichi. These missed. Suddenly, Old Skuld burst out of a bush and began running at Queen Urd. The queen snarled and fired off several force bolts at the goddess. The goddess ducked and rolled out of the way of several shots. Queen Urd was furious.
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE!?!?!?" In her frustration, Queen Urd began raining down lighting all over the grounds. Old Skuld jumped out of the way, avoiding several blasts. Several demons jumped out of the way as well, as the Queen didn't seem to care who she hit. The Queen let out another snarl and fired a force bolt at Old Skuld. Skuld ducked out of the way, allowing the force bolt to go past her, and into Keima.
"K!!!" screamed Sayoko.
K fell to the ground without a sound. Sayoko started to run to her brother's side, but the Queen shouted out.
"EVERYONE! TELEPORT NOW!"
Sayoko looked back at the Queen. "But Auntie! K...."
"NOW!"
Sayoko looked at the Queen, then back at her brother. Finally she reluctantly turned and joined her Aunt. With a flash, the demons left, taking with them Belldandy, Keiichi, and Urd. Lind and Mara looked at each other, then at Skuld. Skuld stood up from were she had dove and walked over to where Keima lay. From the bushes, young Skuld came out, followed by Sentaro who wore the older Skuld's helmet. Both watched as old Skuld rolled Keima onto his back. He looked up at her with a pained expression on his face, as well as one of fear. Old Skuld began to chant, her hands glowed as she pressed them into Keima's wound. The wound healed itself somewhat....before stopping. Old Skuld looked down at Keima.
"I'm sorry K." she said softly, "I.......can't help you. She's......she's just too powerful." Old Skuld looked down at the ground. She then felt a hand on hers. She looked over to see Keima smiling at her. She smiled back. On his forehead, Keima's demon marking flared for a second, before turning blue and joining together to form a blue diamond. Keima then sighed and was still. Old Skuld raised her hands and carefully shut his eyes. His body glowed for a few seconds, then vanished. Similarly, the demon bodies vanished as well. Old Skuld remained on the ground, looking at the spot where Keima had been. Young Skuld walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"She did it again......" Old Skuld said quietly.
"Did what?" asked Young Skuld.
"She took my family away again." Old Skuld looked up, anger in her eyes. "And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her get away with it!"
Later that evening, Belldandy had finally finished relating everything that had happened to Mara.
Mara stared at Belldandy.
"You're kidding right?"
Belldandy shook her head.
"She really took you, Urd, Skuld, AND Lind out? Along with 4 demons?"
Belldandy nodded.
Mara let out a whistle. "Remind me not to bother that goddess at all." She glanced over at Lind who was talking to heaven. "I take it she didn't take defeat very well."
"Lind is a very proud Goddess," replied Belldandy, "she trains very hard and is an excellent fighter. This goddess defeated her like she was nothing. She may not show it, but it really bothers her."
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"This it?"
"Yep. Still looks the same."
"The last time you saw it, it was about 5 years older then this."
"Thanks a lot. Alright K! Cut it!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"........we need to restore contact with the Hell mainframe and their operators," continued Lind, "to find out if this demon is telling the truth."
Peorth's voice came over the phone. "Alright Lind. We'll keep trying to raise Hell, if you'll pardon the expression. In the meantime you should........" The phone line suddenly went dead.
Lind frowned. "Peorth? Peorth?" Lind tried to dial a number, the phone gave no response. She turned and went out to the kitchen.
"The phone is dead."
Keiichi looked up from the couch. "What?"
"The phone is dead."
Urd frowned. "Why would the phone be......." He voice trailed off as a cold feeling shot down her spine. Lind and Belldandy equally froze. Mara began to grow very pale.
Keiichi looked back and forth at the women. "What? What is it?"
Before anyone could answer him, he heard a voice, a voice that sent chills down his spine. It sounded so familiar and yet was anything but.
"Hellooooooooo! Come out come out where ever you are!"
"It's her." said Mara quietly.
"Who?" asked Keiichi.
"Sayoko, the one who looks like Belldandy."
"HEY!" came the voice, "I said COME OUT!!"
"What should we do?" asked Keiichi.
"We cannot go outside." said Lind, "We do not know what faces us outside."
"There's at least 8 demons." said Mara.
A force bolt suddenly blasted through the wall, flew over everyone's head, before blasting it's way back out of the house. Everyone hit the floor.
"The next one comes in lower. NOW GET OUT OF THAT HOUSE!"
"Well what now?" asked Mara.
"We comply." replied Lind. She stood up, and exited the house with her hands raised. Urd sighed and followed. Mara grumbled something and then exited, followed by Keiichi and Belldandy. Even though he was told what to expect, Keiichi was still surprised. The demon that waited outside looked almost exactly like Belldandy, except that her hair was darker, like Megumi's. The demoness looked over her captives with a kind of excitement. That looked vanished when her eyes came on Keiichi and Belldandy. Keiichi could have sworn that the demoness actually looked unhappy and about to cry. The demoness looked away before speaking, but even as she did, her voice began to crack.
"Have you found the cat?"
"Yes Milady." replied a Demon who held up Velsper by the tail. Velsper struggled to try and scratch at the demon.
"Take him back and prepare him for the 'discussion'." The demon bowed and then vanished. Sayoko continued to looked away from the group. "Urd. My Aunt would like to speak with you."
Urd frowned. "I have nothing to say to a demon."
Sayoko turned about and glared at Urd. "You have no say in the matter!"
"Why would the Queen of Hell want to speak with Urd.....When the Queen of Hell IS Urd?" asked Mara.
Sayoko glared at Mara, "Quiet Traitor!"
"Why are you doing this?" asked Belldandy, "We have done nothing to you."
Sayoko started to speak, but hesitated, refusing to meet Belldandy's eyes. "I.......I........I must obey my Aunt."
"Even if it's wrong?"
"She took me in....." said Sayoko softly, "She took me and K in......when no one else would." Sayoko shook her head and then turned to one of the other demons. "They are all coming with us."
Sayoko started to turn away when a flash of silver caught her eye. She turned to see a disk wedged into the throat of the demon. The demon fell to the ground dead. Sayoko snapped out an order and quickly began to look around. The other demons began to spread out and look at the trees and bushes along the temple grounds. Another whirling noise, another demon dropped dead.
"Where is she?" hissed Sayoko.
"I don't know Milady." replied one of the demons.
"I hope it isn't anyone we know." said Urd quietly.
Mara glanced over at Urd. "Huh?"
Urd motioned at the 2 dead demons. "Doublet system, remember?"
"Oh." Mara looked back at the demons. "These are the ones that came with that Queen. They have different outfits then the rest."
The demon Sayoko growled and fired off several force bolts into the bushes. The only reply was another dead demon, the metal disk coming from an entirely different direction.
"Shit!" shouted Sayoko. Sayoko started to track the bushes again, when a fireball lit up the temple yard. When it vanished, Queen Urd, Keima, and several other demons had appeared.
"Oh crap." muttered Mara. Urd had to agree. It was like looking at an evil version of herself. It sent chills down her spine.
"What the hell is taking you so long?!" shouted Queen Urd, "The cat is back. Why aren't you?!?"
"We have encountered a difficulty." replied Sayoko.
"A difficulty?" asked Queen Urd, "What kind of.....?" a whirling noise and another demon dropping dead cut her off. "Oh.......THAT difficulty. Well this will be easy to fix." She turned to K. "Your knife. Now." K handed Queen Urd his knife. She then walked over and grabbed Belldandy, holding the knife to her throat. Sayoko and Keima both froze. Queen Urd looked around at the bushes before speaking. "ALRIGHT BRAT! I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE! GET OUT IN THE OPEN OR I'LL KILL HER!"
Keiichi started to move towards Queen Urd, but several Demon hands grabbed him. Sayoko and Keima themselves looked unsure. The Queen continued to hold the knife on Belldandy, looking around to see if the Goddess would step out. She waited several moments before speaking again. "YOU KNOW I'LL DO IT!" Still no answer. Finally, Queen Urd tossed Belldandy to the ground in disgust. She then nodded to the demons holding Keiichi. One of them pulled out a knife and held it at Keiichi's throat. Keiichi froze as he felt the cold metal touching his throat. Queen Urd smiled and then turned back to the bushes. "ALRIGHT! HOW ABOUT THIS: YOU GET TO SEE THE LOOK ON BELLDANDY'S FACE WHEN I KILL KEIICHI RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER!" Urd voice then went softer, but could still be heard clearly across the grounds. "You remember what she was like when he was killed don't you? Are you ready to see it again?"
"Enough."
Queen Urd turned to see the 1st Class Goddess stepping out of the bushes, without her helmet. Belldandy, Keiichi, Urd, Mara, and even Lind gasped as they saw her face.
"Skuld......." Belldandy said softly.
"She's........old." said Keiichi.
"Well Skuld......." said Queen Urd, "It's been years........Now raise your hands. I don't intend to get shot."
Skuld complied, placing both hands on her head.
"Skuld Skuld Skuld....." began Queen Urd, "You've caused me a lot of problems over the years."
Skuld just smiled.
"That ends today." continued Urd. She looked over at the demons holding Keiichi. The released him and started moving towards Skuld.
"Hold it!" shouted Skuld.
The demons froze. Queen Urd frowned. "What for?"
"Urd, you've known me and fought me for many years now." Skuld said with a smile, "Haven't you learned yet?"
Queen Urd's frown became a look of confusion. "Learned what?"
"NEVER underestimate Skuld!" Skuld started lowering her left arm.
"SHOOT HER!" shouted Queen Urd.
Demons began firing force bolts on Skuld. The bolts passed straight through her as if she wasn't even there. The demons stared in shock at Skuld, who was now laughing at them. Suddenly she broke up into static, before vanishing.
"Hologram!?!?" muttered the Queen. Seconds later, all hell broke loose.
Force bolts began raining down on the demons from two different directions, followed by a few metal disks from one of the directions.
"Dammit!" shouted Queen Urd, "Get them out of here!"
Several Demons grabbed Keiichi and Urd and began to haul them away. Queen Urd herself grabbed Belldandy. Several more grabbed Lind and Mara. These were hit by force bolts, killing them instantly. Several more force bolts went after the ones holding Urd and Keiichi. These missed. Suddenly, Old Skuld burst out of a bush and began running at Queen Urd. The queen snarled and fired off several force bolts at the goddess. The goddess ducked and rolled out of the way of several shots. Queen Urd was furious.
"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE!?!?!?" In her frustration, Queen Urd began raining down lighting all over the grounds. Old Skuld jumped out of the way, avoiding several blasts. Several demons jumped out of the way as well, as the Queen didn't seem to care who she hit. The Queen let out another snarl and fired a force bolt at Old Skuld. Skuld ducked out of the way, allowing the force bolt to go past her, and into Keima.
"K!!!" screamed Sayoko.
K fell to the ground without a sound. Sayoko started to run to her brother's side, but the Queen shouted out.
"EVERYONE! TELEPORT NOW!"
Sayoko looked back at the Queen. "But Auntie! K...."
"NOW!"
Sayoko looked at the Queen, then back at her brother. Finally she reluctantly turned and joined her Aunt. With a flash, the demons left, taking with them Belldandy, Keiichi, and Urd. Lind and Mara looked at each other, then at Skuld. Skuld stood up from were she had dove and walked over to where Keima lay. From the bushes, young Skuld came out, followed by Sentaro who wore the older Skuld's helmet. Both watched as old Skuld rolled Keima onto his back. He looked up at her with a pained expression on his face, as well as one of fear. Old Skuld began to chant, her hands glowed as she pressed them into Keima's wound. The wound healed itself somewhat....before stopping. Old Skuld looked down at Keima.
"I'm sorry K." she said softly, "I.......can't help you. She's......she's just too powerful." Old Skuld looked down at the ground. She then felt a hand on hers. She looked over to see Keima smiling at her. She smiled back. On his forehead, Keima's demon marking flared for a second, before turning blue and joining together to form a blue diamond. Keima then sighed and was still. Old Skuld raised her hands and carefully shut his eyes. His body glowed for a few seconds, then vanished. Similarly, the demon bodies vanished as well. Old Skuld remained on the ground, looking at the spot where Keima had been. Young Skuld walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"She did it again......" Old Skuld said quietly.
"Did what?" asked Young Skuld.
"She took my family away again." Old Skuld looked up, anger in her eyes. "And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her get away with it!"
